NIGHTLIFE was the forth LP by Irish Rockers THIN LIZZY,released in 1974 and the first to feature guitarists BRIAN ROBERTSON and SCOT GORMAN.It's worthy of closer inspection despite the fact that it contains none of their hits and tracks from it are rarely included on 'best of' CD's.The cover art by JIM FITZPATRICK depicting a BLACK PANTHER in front of a US CITY SKYLINE give a clue to the contents:A Lizzy LP that shows the influence of R 'n' B,SOUL and FUNK more than any before or after it
The LP kicks off with ''MOTHER MARY'' a classic melodic lizzy song,followed by a CHICAGO BLUES influenced number in the form of NIGHT LIFE.Third up is the hard riffing killer''IT'S ONLY MONEY''
The tempo drops down for Track 4:''STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU'',PHIL LYNOTT singing a duet version with Scottish soul singer FRANKIE MILLER.The next ''FRANKIE CARROLL'' clocks in at just over 2mins and it's a shame the song wasn't expanded and built upon a bit more.Turn the record over and you have a genuine highlight in the form of ''SHOWDOWN'' a FUNK ROCK track that features an awesome BASSLINE,slick WAH-WAH GUITAR parts and SOULFUL FEMALE BACKING VOCALS
The instrumental ''BANSHEE'' could have been great if it had gone beyond the fade at 1.25.Perhaps it was left that way deliberately as the CELTIC MELODY works as an introduction to the next track ''PHILOMENA'',a song Phil penned for his mother.''SHA-LA-LA'' rocks hard and includes some great string bending guitar lines and dynamic drum fills from BRIAN DOWNEY.The icing on the cake for this fine album comes in the form of ''DEAR HEART''.SOUL influences to the fore again:A CURTIS MAYFIELD like GROOVE from the BASS and DRUMS ,topped with a masterful Lynot vocal and SWEET STRINGS
Track List:
1. She Knows 00:04
2. Night Life 05:20
3. It's Only Money 09:18
4. Still in Love with You 12:07
5. Frankie Carroll 17:51
6. Showdown 19:56
7. Banshee 24:31
8. Philomena 26:00
9. Sha La La 29:43
10. Dear Heart 33:12
Released - 8 November 1974
Produced by - Phil Lynott, Ron Nevison
No comments:
Post a Comment